Our Homes
Our homes are located in ‘safe and secure’ residential areas in the city of Brighton & Hove offering easy access to all the amenities and services on offer, including mainstream junior and secondary schools and colleges. They are easily accessible being within walking distance to mainline rail stations, and have excellent connections to major road links from the north, east and west.
Springfields and Westfields care for younger children aged 6 years to 12 years on admission. The homes provide primary-age care through baseline assessments for all children after an initial 12 weeks in placement, psychodynamic assessment of emotional needs, and primary provision, including intensive individual support and supervision where needed. Springfields and Westfields both offer real therapeutic care and nurture to children who may have experienced a breakdown in their family home, considerable disruptions to their lives, ongoing difficulties in their functioning, and whose needs have been unmet in alternative care settings.
Hillfields cares for older children aged 12 years to 16 years on admission. The home has been designed to provide secondary-age care provision through baseline assessments for all children after an initial 12 weeks in placement, psychodynamic assessment of emotional needs, and pathway plans leading to interdependent living and/or supported accommodation. Hillfields is available for those children who may have experienced a breakdown in their own family, considerable disruptions to their lives, whose needs have not been met in alternative care settings, or who require ongoing therapeutic support combined with practical support and guidance to move towards adulthood and interdependent living.
We recognise that if something fundamental in a child’s early experiences was not ‘good enough’, this can prevent not only their early emotional needs from being met, but also their ability to function in day-to-day life. For many children in our care, the past is still part of their present. Previous negative experiences and possible abuse suffered by the child leaves them with fears, anxieties, trauma, and a range of defence mechanisms that hold back their ability to function appropriately.
Our Work
Through taking elements from the model of attachment and principles of psychodynamics, we attempt to really be with the child, living alongside them, and holding the experiences they have suffered, until such time as the pain becomes more bearable for them.
Through our work, we help children incorporate a positive experience of “good enough” parenting and care that can facilitate the repair of the damage caused by previous abusive situations and experiences. We recognise that the healthy development of any child greatly depends on the availability of “good enough” care, together with the provision of appropriate models of individuals, relationships and situations. Similarly, we are aware of the importance of providing children with opportunities to experience different ways of relating, living and learning.
Ongoing psychodynamic assessment of emotional need and regularly updated therapeutically informed Placement Plans (overseen by professional and experienced managers and consultants), with an integrated special education resource, combined with provision of primary care in a nurturing environment at Springfields and Westfields, and secondary care in a safe and supportive environment at Hillfields, provides the framework for meeting the needs of our children and young people.
The assessments and treatment programmes guide the provision of day-to-day care in a structured, yet flexible environment. Much emphasis is placed on supporting the child in their educational setting. Our work enables children to make the transition, when the time is right for them, from Springfields and Westfields towards a sustainable foster placement or to Hillfields if this is considered a positive ‘next step’, and from Hillfields towards successful interdependent living.
Our Primary Task
Our primary task is to help children to come to terms with areas of their lives in which they have experienced marked difficulties, consolidate and support areas in which they are functioning well, promote educational and/or training and employment opportunities, and enable them to move successfully to sustainable and enjoyable fostering placements or to live interdependently in their community.
For more about our Therapeutic Practice Approach, please click here.
Click here for: Statement of Purpose Hillfields v17 (13.07.26)
Click here for: Statement of Purpose Springfields v20 (07.07.26)
Click here for: Statement of Purpose Westfields v15 (07.07.26)